OSLO – The United States Department of Transportation has approved of the proposed joint venture between Atlanta based Delta Air Lines (DAL), and Santiago based LATAM Airlines Group (LAN). The approval makes over 300 destinations accessible to passengers, between the United States, Canada and the continent of South America.
Close co-operation
In recent news, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave Delta Air Lines and LATAM Airlines Group the green-light for both carriers to start their joint venture which will benefit passengers, as it will open gateways to over 300 destinations all over North and South-America.
The approval will enable both Delta and the LATAM group, including LATAM Brazil, LATAM Colombia, LATAM Peru and LATAM Paraguay, to unlock new customer and cargo benefits of each other, where enhanced service and expanded route offerings are including.
The deal will also add to the codeshare routes and reciprocal loyalty benefits which are already in use.
Delta’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ed Bastian, thanks the Department of Transportation, saying:- “Delta’s partnership with LATAM will help grow the market between North and South America and provide significant and much-needed benefits for customers, and we applaud the DOT for this final approval.”
Further adding: “Now, we’ll get to work with LATAM to transform the travel experience for our collective customers and create new opportunities for our employees.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LATAM Group, Roberto Alvo, also commented on the approval, saying: “The approval by the DOT will give rise to the start of work with Delta to deliver more and better benefits to LATAM and Delta customers, such as faster connections, and the joint accrual of miles in frequent flyer programs, among many others.”
“I am sure that, over time, we will be able to offer the best connections, while incorporating a sustainable view of the future.”
Partnership announced in 2019
The partnership was originally announced in 2019, when both carriers said they would be forming the leading airline partnership across the Americas, with their goal being expanding travel choices across North and South America.
Since the announcement, them both have achieved a number of milestones, with some being – Frequent Flyer benefits, shared terminals at hubs, for example Sao Paulo, Santiago and New York JFK, mutual access to Delta Sky Club lounges in the U.S. and LATAM lounges in South America.
Later in 2020, both carriers advanced in their collaboration and commenced with codeshare services in South America, which later expanded to codeshare services to 20 United States – South America routes, including connections to domestic and regional destinations from their hubs across the United States and South America.
Overall
Delta and LATAM are further advancing in their commitment to form the leading airline partnership, and the Department of Transportation’s approval certainly boosts their process by a great amount.
As we see, the advantages that will end up in hand of the customers, seem to be quite fair and far from bad. As with every business and every agreement, it’s uncertain wether this will work or go down the drain. However, they seem to be doing fine and hopefully it will stay that way
